Verizon Utility Work Clogs Up Downtown Bethesda

A Verizon spokesperson said the utility work and lane closures that clogged up downtown Bethesda for the last week are over.

Verizon Maryland spokesperson Sandra Arnette said crews had to replace 800 feet of water-damaged cable on Wisconsin Avenue between East-West Highway and Montgomery Avenue. That caused the closure of two lanes of northbound Wisconsin in one of Bethesda’s busiest intersections.

Police received numerous calls about back-ups on northbound Wisconsin Avenue, which during last night’s evening rush hour stretched south to Bradley Lane.

Arnette said a crew finished the cable replacement on Monday and the last lane closure re-opened on Monday night.

One reader wondered why the work took so long.

“It is absolutely grid-locked Bethesda all weekend and was still going on this morning. Why can’t they fix a cable in one day, like they do in the rest of the world? They have cost Bethesda drivers thousands of wasted hours and lots of lost revenues for business,” the reader wrote.